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Brinkley’s

I went to Brinkley’s last Sunday for an early lunch after spending the day before outside, drinking Jaegermeister and dancing to pounding pounding techno music. Well not quite techno, but as close as I’ll get to it.

On Saturday I went to the Electric Daisy Carnival at the Olympic Park in East London, and spent 8 solid hours drinking, dancing and fist pumping, so it’s no surprise that by Sunday morning, I was absolutely famished.

We (my boyfriend and some friends who’d been at the carnival with me), grabbed a table in the “garden” – essentially a room with a rolled back roof – and felt slightly out of place in a restaurant with white table cloths and napkins, as we tried to piece together the night (or rather, day) before.

Whilst the boys had their head in the hands and felt a little worse for wear, I cracked on and put them to shame by ordering a Bloody Mary to prove my ‘I-know-how-to-handle-my-booze-better-than-you’ smugness. My smug smiled was soon wiped off with the first sip of The Bloody Mezza. Not because I couldn’t handle the vodka, but because their recipe for what constitutes a Bloody Mary was incredibly disappointing. Aside from the spice, it lacked any really oomph (not enough Worcestershire sauce) and no veg (see the image below for the lack of celery!) Seriously, who doesn’t add celery?!

Moving onto the food menu quickly, the moment I saw ‘Brinkley’s burger rossini with chips, rocket, crispy onions and foie gras’ I thought, I’ve hit the the jackpot. And in reality, I had.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the burger had no top bun (see my post on the Jam Tree for my rant about bread vs. burger), and instead it was topped with shavings of crispy, fried onion. A light and complimentary alternative. The bottom-heavy bun was the perfect amount to make up for the fact it was missing a lid. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

The fois gras was perfectly blended with the cheese and not at all over-powering, which can sometimes happen with such a rich taste. It was delectable.

The lack of top bun also, I realised, allowed me to savour every moment that bit longer, because it forced me to eat the burger with a knife and fork, which took up much more time than it would had I been wolfing it down single-handedly!

I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting anything particularly special from this place, but Brinkley’s burger is top notch. Especially when you know, after hours of dancing the night before, that you totally deserve it!